No
fallacy is more glaring than the 'consensus of most scholars'[1]
that pre-Pauline creedal material is present the New Testament. And by being
pre-Pauline, which assumes Paul is more than a literary character, and in fact is
a contemporary of Jesus, his blinding conversion separated by less than a
decade from his mission, these creeds therefore appear to be incorruptible
evidence, coming within only months (a few years at most) of the crucifixion, and
so demonstrate first beliefs of Christianity, and arguably the surety of its
historical roots. This evidence seems to have been enough that Bart Erhman
declared Adoptionism was likely the first form of Christianity, a conclusion
that derives directly from the very nature of these creeds.
There
are so many problems with this position that it’s can be confusing which weak
point to attack first.
